Effect of fuel composition on azimuthal combustion instabilities in an annular combustor equipped with spray injectors
Effect of fuel composition on azimuthal combustion instabilities in an annular combustor equipped with spray injectors
In a context where the aviation sector is actively looking into replacing standard jet fuels with sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), examining the effects of fuel composition on combustion dynamics is of current interest. There are indeed indications that the chemical composition may notably impact the location of the unstable operating points and the amplitude and frequency of thermo-acoustic oscillations. The fuel composition effect is hence investigated in this article by considering the case of binary fuel mixtures composed of heptane and dodecane, two fuels presenting very different volatilities (Tboil = 380 K for heptane and Tboil = 480 K for dodecane). The blends composition is varied between pure heptane and pure dodecane, and the corresponding dynamical behavior is observed in an annular combustor equipped with swirl spray injectors. It is shown that the composition changes the location, extent, and geometry of the unstable domain. The frequency of the instability also depends on fuel composition. The differences in behavior observed for the different blends are then characterized by measuring flame describing functions (FDFs). These functions are determined in a separate burner representing a sector of the annular chamber in which the air flow is modulated from the upstream side. It is found that the FDF gain and phase curves change with the fuel blend. These data, combined with a reduced-order thermo-acoustic model, are used to interpret the experimental observations. From a more practical standpoint, this study indicates that it is important to examine the dynamical behavior of combustors that will use novel fuels like SAFs.
Veranika, Latour
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Durox, Daniel
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Rajendram Soundararajan, Preethi
27962fcb-d8a8-405a-b137-086815ec8e29
Renaud, Antoine
aedb2589-2a4a-4614-b9fa-1da56f9c7b0d
Candel, Sebastien
c8f272d5-74e9-4fdf-9052-30122eb3a372
Veranika, Latour
e2a71985-f685-4ab4-9ba8-6d23855009e0
Durox, Daniel
5abd6445-57f2-41a0-b831-983ef4239273
Rajendram Soundararajan, Preethi
27962fcb-d8a8-405a-b137-086815ec8e29
Renaud, Antoine
aedb2589-2a4a-4614-b9fa-1da56f9c7b0d
Candel, Sebastien
c8f272d5-74e9-4fdf-9052-30122eb3a372
Veranika, Latour, Durox, Daniel, Rajendram Soundararajan, Preethi, Renaud, Antoine and Candel, Sebastien
(2023)
Effect of fuel composition on azimuthal combustion instabilities in an annular combustor equipped with spray injectors.
In Effect of fuel composition on azimuthal combustion instabilities in an annular combustor equipped with spray injectors.
vol. GT2023-101370,
ASME Turbo Expo.
12 pp
.
(doi:10.1115/GT2023-101370).
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
In a context where the aviation sector is actively looking into replacing standard jet fuels with sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), examining the effects of fuel composition on combustion dynamics is of current interest. There are indeed indications that the chemical composition may notably impact the location of the unstable operating points and the amplitude and frequency of thermo-acoustic oscillations. The fuel composition effect is hence investigated in this article by considering the case of binary fuel mixtures composed of heptane and dodecane, two fuels presenting very different volatilities (Tboil = 380 K for heptane and Tboil = 480 K for dodecane). The blends composition is varied between pure heptane and pure dodecane, and the corresponding dynamical behavior is observed in an annular combustor equipped with swirl spray injectors. It is shown that the composition changes the location, extent, and geometry of the unstable domain. The frequency of the instability also depends on fuel composition. The differences in behavior observed for the different blends are then characterized by measuring flame describing functions (FDFs). These functions are determined in a separate burner representing a sector of the annular chamber in which the air flow is modulated from the upstream side. It is found that the FDF gain and phase curves change with the fuel blend. These data, combined with a reduced-order thermo-acoustic model, are used to interpret the experimental observations. From a more practical standpoint, this study indicates that it is important to examine the dynamical behavior of combustors that will use novel fuels like SAFs.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2023
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Local EPrints ID: 505796
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/505796
PURE UUID: 0ad16a20-752f-4a88-ae35-7a4f7c5629d2
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Date deposited: 20 Oct 2025 16:34
Last modified: 21 Oct 2025 02:12
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Author:
Latour Veranika
Author:
Daniel Durox
Author:
Preethi Rajendram Soundararajan
Author:
Antoine Renaud
Author:
Sebastien Candel
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